Previous state of the art processes for manufacturing fuel cell bipolar plates include machining together molded carbon and formed metal foils. The major limitation of these past processes is that they require expensive tooling that cannot be reconfigured rapidly to incorporate new design. These processes lead to two piece bipolar plates that require an extra set of gasket seals and grooves needed to seal the fuel cell stack in the assembly steps to build a functioning fuel cell. Specifically, creating a typical bipolar plate involves welding together at least two pieces. This welded portion is then provided with gasket seals, which can leak or otherwise become damaged, in addition to forming grooves in the welded portion to accommodate the seals.